Microsites: how to use them to shake up your digital presence in 2019

A new year is a time for fresh starts: personally, professionally, and, hey, even digitally. But if you’ve been waiting for 2019 to roll out a new product or campaign and haven’t considered a microsite, you could be missing out.

According to Forrester, microsites can be four times more effective than traditional campaigns, which is probably why brands like Domino’s, P&G, and Spotify rely on them to provide audiences with specific information around new products. Here’s everything you need to know about microsites for your 2019 product launches and campaigns.

So what is a microsite?

Basically a microsite is exactly what it sounds like: it’s simply a single web page (or a few pages) that is separate from the company homepage. A microsite’s landing page generally has its own domain, but could also potentially exist as a subdomain.

For example, if you needed a 16-pack of paper towels and a new desk chair, you’d most likely head over to the official website for Office Depot/Office Max. But if you’re looking to create a shareable photo of yourself all dressed up like one of Santa’s little helpers, you’d want to check out the wildly popular Office Max microsite, elfyourself.com. The site functions only around the holidays, and to date 1.6 billion people have elfed themselves.

How should you be using them?

Okay, but you’re not looking to help people digitally alter pictures of themselves, so do your really need a microsite? Probably! Especially if you’re launching a new product or campaign.

When Tillamook, a dairy co-op primarily known for cheese, wanted to branch out into cheese sauce starter kits, the brand created a microsite that focused solely on the sauce starters. There, cheese lovers can find recipes and even local grocery stores that sell the starters.

But microsites can also be temporary. In 2015, Domino’s launched a new Chevy Spark pizza delivery car, complete with a warming oven to keep pizza hot when it was out for delivery. They promoted the cars with an interactive microsite that allowed users to zoom in on different features of the car and even take a test ride. Once the excitement had died down, the site disappeared.

Can’t you just do all that with a landing page?

Not really. A landing page is typically used for highly-specific calls to action. For example, if you’re looking to get people to download a white paper or sign up for a webinar, you’d most likely want a landing page. But people go to microsites for information. Customers who want quick access to specific details about a product might search it on their phones before ordering it on their desktop. An engaging, interactive microsite can give top-of-funnel buyers personalized, targeted information without forcing them to slog through pages of the company website to find the information they’re looking for.

Microsites can even go beyond offering specific, interactive product information. Marketers can create specific URLs tailored to each contact on a list, meaning personalized messaging that moves much closer to 1:1 marketing than a generalized, CTA-centric landing page.